Wind "The Farmer" Cries
BACKGROUND Wind "The Farmer" Cries (Lakota: tȟaté čhéya) was the Doctor and Bodyguard for Brennan's Raiders from 1898 to 1913, he served to be a tough, yet empathetic asset in the gang and as a symbol of co-existence to the rest of society in an extremely prejudiced time period. 1869-1884 Wind Cries was born to Chief Spotted Elk in Wounded Knee, Pine Ridge. His early years were mentored by his father and older brother Angel Heart (Lakota: oglígle wakaŋ chaŋté) as he learnt how to forge, create medicine from the herbs at the farm, hunt buffalo and to survey to the land for expansion and protection. Cries also grew up learning his native tongue of Lakota and English from Angel Heart. At 18, Wind Cries had his first interaction with someone outside of the tribe; the American Army. The army arrived at the reservation to negotiate removal of the natives further to the west in exchange for money and alcohol. During the negotiation, Cries eavesdropped on a conversation between an army general and soldier, in which, he learnt that the army are planning to assault the tribe and to establish a camp on the grounds. Cries' knowledge of the plan allowed for him to warn the tribe and his family on the upcoming attack, from then until the Battle of Wounded Knee, Cries learnt the skill and tactics of combat, weaponry and the brutality of what is to come. 1890 At the early morning at 5:30am, in Wounded Knee, Cries witnessed a commotion coming over the hills of the camp, on further examination he witnessed the arrival of the army. Startled, he alerted the tribe of their arrival and an assault had broken out on the grounds, with cannons and dynamite being used to cripple the forces and destroy the abodes of the tribe. Spotted Elk hushed Cries into his tent with the children of the tribe with the instruction to protect them. Cries witnessed his father and brother walk towards the army with their arms in the air, just to fall shortly after. Cries held back the urge to run out and cry at the ruthless killers, however he did not wish to compromise the protection of the children, Cries, however, saw a small red stick of dynamite at the foot of the tent, Cries couldn't react as the tent was engulfed in an explosion, with debris striking him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Cries awoken in a ditch, alone, among the remains of his tribesmen. He struggled out of the ditch to the sight of his camp smoldering and burnt with bodies of the children and women strewn about, bloodied and partially eaten. With panic, anger and grief, he witnessed what made the bodies so decomposed, a lone mountain lion feasting deep into the ribs of a deceased woman. Enraged, Cries sprinted towards the lion, who quickly turned and slashed at his face, leaving several wounds by his eye, with adrenaline allowing Cries to move, he pounced on the lion, with arms tightly wrapped around the neck of the lion. Several minutes passed as the lion roared with the last gasp of air in their collapsed trachea. The lion fell dead, and Cries staggered into the wilderness, alone. 1891-1894 With vague memories and hateful dreams of the soldiers who fired upon his tribe, Cries began a campaign to fight the men who took his home, he gained notoriety by assaulting stationed forts and camps along with other tribal remnants, using his skills in combat and his strength, Cries burnt down, demolished and slain countless stations in the newly-formed beacons of society with undying passion, gaining a hefty bounty for his head. With the newly-formed recognition, Cries went southwards to avoid the ire of bounty hunters. 1895 On his journey, Cries became a passing talent in the world of street-fighting, where he accumulated a fighting record of 35 wins to 1 loss. The only loss from the fight came from an irate rival who pulled out a blade and struck Cries across his face, beneath his previous scars, cutting him open and causing Cries to lose from a "First Blood" disqualification, however Cries still fought, despite the efforts of on-lookers to remove him, he choked his rival out in a barrel full of fertilizer. This murder drew a target on Cries as he fled further south. 1896 When Cries arrived at New Austin. Where on arrival he was approached by a man who wished for Cries to do a job for him. Cries accepted it when he learnt he was travelling to Blackwater to make a demonstration of a shady banker there. The man offered payment in the local saloon when he returned, however, with a taste of hatred towards society, the next few days became a blur from there. When Cries had clarity, he had realized he traveled up to town in a wagon filled with the employer's 'instruments'. However, Cries still followed the plan and broke into Le Fort's Banking in the dead of night to drag the ailing man inside to the outside into the street by his hair, where he tied him up and grabbed a barrel of oil from the wagon, where he opened up on the banker before striking a match, roasting the old man alive in the middle of the street. When Cries returned to Tumbleweed to receive his payment, he entered the bar and was greeted by two bounty hunters, Cries knew he had been set up and the assault quickly came underway, yet, the fist-to-fist conflict quickly ended when Cries threw one out of the ground level's window and the other was headbutted with a ferocious force. The posse decided to bring out their weapons against the native, however a swift flurry of bullets ended their attack for good, as behind them stood "The Boy" Joe, although originally hesitant, Cries felt obliged to repay the favor the young man. Joining together, the duo worked on Joe's farm, growing herbs and medicinal crops to sell to doctors for a large profit. 1898 After one particularly warm day in the Summer of 1898, Cries and Joe retired to the ranch to eat their meal, however, the meal was interrupted by a violent group of men barging into the ranch's front door, firing wildly as the duo were forced to flee into the night, during their escape, they witnessed a firefight which quickly ended as two men were beaten to the ground with weapon butts and fists, the duo quickly rushed to the aid of the men by firing at their attackers, killing them as they arrived just in time. "The Butcher" and John "The Quickfire Kid" Woodlock thanked the duo and welcomed them into the gang, however Ollie had reservations over having Cries in their ranks. Regardless, John allowed them to fight alongside them as they stormed the ranch in the pursuit of Klaus' gang. Cries began the assault by choking the guard at the gate with the gang firing at who they could, eventually wiping out the ranch's infestation, yet failing to capture Klaus. Among the ruins of his second home, Cries followed the gang onward to eliminate Klaus by thin rumors and speculation of his whereabouts. By December, the gang ended up in Saint Denis, where they beaten and interrogated Klaus' gang to learn of his location, after one particular incident, they learned where he was hiding, and John instructed Wind to buy some dynamite. By New Years' Eve, Brennan's Raiders attacked Klaus' home and forced him to get onto his boat to escape, while moving the boat, Cries and Ollie launched a barrage of dynamite at the boat a hail of bullets we fired. Presuming the death of Klaus was certain, the group returned to camp. 1899 Cries kept guard of the camp until Klaus' remains were found, and early one morning he spotted a group of men ride towards the camp, alerted, he woke the gang and began to fire at the men, who fired back, keeping the native stuck behind cover until the rest got their weapons and retaliated, killing the majority and severely injuring one man, in which Cries approached, disarmed and tied up to let Ollie torture until they find out why they approached the camp. There, the group learnt Klaus survived, and after John finished off the survivor with a kick to the head, they packed up and fled into the wilderness until they made a plan. In the wild, Joe and Cries reminisced about their past over fishing, hunting and travelling, alongside Ollie, the two began to cooperate and talk more, both mentioning their involvement in Wounded Knee and the futility of hatred against people not responsible, here, Cries begins to form a friendship with Ollie. The two began to hunt more often while giving each other opportunities to enhance their skills. After five months of the wilderness, the posse arrived in Armadillo with a plan to draw attention to John to bait in Klaus. John instructed Cries to hide in the post office and to attack if Klaus attacks him in the street or attempts to flee, Cries, uncharacteristically, shook John's hand before retreating into the office. In the office, Cries reflected on his life, the lost of his tribe, the vengeance he unleashed onto the army and hatred towards modern society, yet his association with three white men, one of which fought at Wounded Knee. While thinking, Cries shook the thought as he poked his head out of window to witness Klaus running directly towards the office, with little hesitation, Cries opened the office door to met the man, towering over him; and with the swiftness Cries perfected over his life, he grabbed the man's head and slammed it against the opened door, sending the man flying towards the ground. With reoccurring hatred from his past of people who ruined his life flooding his mind, Klaus was not to escape the iron grasp of Wind Cries, who slowly, almost mockingly, walked towards John was his captive struggling to escape by petty pleading and biting. With very little care, Cries dumped Klaus straight onto his belly, leaving him to the mercy of his boss. Cries turned around and noticed a glimmer on the floor beside the door, he walked over to realize that on the floor laid Klaus' Mauser Pistol, a symbol of fine society, and with one more memory of the children from Wounded Knee, Cries stomped on the hardened metal weapon, breaking it under his hulking strength. As Cries once more turned and walked towards the commotion, he saw Klaus' lifeless husk being hauled away by his friend to the Sheriff's office to be redeemed. With the ordeal over, Cries returned to camp. During the celebration, Cries observed Ollie, Joe and John all merry, singing songs and drinking, happy they had ended the journey. There, Cries realized that the past is dead, and the only thing that matters now is this family he has. Later on, before packing up the camp for good, Joe and John approached Ollie and Cries as they conversed with a proposition; to rebuild John's ranch and to employ all of the posse to work, Cries saw this as another opportunity to return to normality and peace, and he agreed with the plan. HANGING DOG RANCH The journey to Hanging Dog meant Cries could meet with many people who blessed and cursed the posse for what they had done with Klaus, those who were extreme with their feelings either ended up joining the posse or being killed by the posse. With each new member, Cries felt as if his family extended, much like his tribe that he had lost long ago. To repay Cries for his services, John had purchased and modified two Volcanic Pistols that were in use at Wounded Knee, as if not to forget. Both Volcanic Pistols were inscribed "Angel" and "Elk" to honor Cries' family. Cries has kept these weapons on his person since he received them. Thoughts like his posse now being his tribe brought peace to Cries, as they reached Hanging Dog, Cries became more cheerful and extremely helpful, building the ranch, barn and assisting John in reburying the dead. For the following years, Cries served as the lead medicine man of the community. 1903 - 1909 When Cries learnt of John's death, he began searching the areas for the remains, yet could only find the other victims. Determined to protect the ranch from attacks in the future, Cries had helped Ollie develop the ranch into a powerhouse, even protecting the ranch from a rouge group of militants the Raiders had stolen weaponry from, and in another event he halted a rouge group form attacking in an insurrection, taking down at least 12 men before being slashed across the heart by a bladed weapon, surviving the deep wound and being rewarded by Ollie with a reward for his services. After recovering, Cries had began to farm medicine in the newly allocated land that Joe had acquired, informally recreating the business they had lost years ago. When John returned, alive, Cries celebrated the return with the rest of the group. Years went on and by the turn of 1912, most scars were healed. MEXICO In February 1912, Wind was approached by John for one more journey for some gold to clear every name on the ranch, Wind, determined to help his tribe, joined John and the posse with the addition of a new member who tipped them off, Corey "The Kid Clfc". Following the desert to the Mexican border, Corey explained to the men that the gold belonged to former pirates who had left the stock there before their ship was sunk, Wind empathized with the lives lost at sea from unnecessary violence, and made this vocal to the gang, who were interested by Cries' emotions. When the gang reached the San Luis River, they followed the newly-built train tracks across into Mexico, avoiding local law enforcement as they followed the map along the coast for the next two months. APRIL By April, the gang had arrived at El Mejor Cambio city, where Corey fled from. From there, the gang had to follow Corey’s instructions as John went on reconnaissance as the gang set up a camp by a nearby waterfall. During this time, Cries had hunted tropical animals with his pistols before working with Joe, Ollie and Clfc on a fishing raft. After a few days of working on their rafts, John had returned, greatly excited. On explaining his wild theory of the gold hiding in a cave beneath a large cliff-villa, Ollie followed John out with the raft, intending for spying rather than fishing. As they left, Cries was vocal on not attacking this villa head-on as they have the raw power in his opinion, however Joe explained that they shouldn't draw attention while they're so far away from home. Listening to his friend, he angrily complies and continues hunting, missing the initial return of John and Ollie. MAY, 1912 Over the month, the gang had created two large enough rafts from local resources to sail in and steal enough gold, and John’s plan came to fruition as that very night of their completion, the gang boarded the rafts towards the cave and broke inside, once in, John lit his lantern, examining the chamber they entered, the gang saw weaponry and explosives littering the chamber. Wind took the time to examine the ammunition, even lifting one of the Maxim guns with ease, before hearing someone quickly climbing down, aiming his weapons he saw a light approaching them and John emerged, Wind holstered his guns and saw John had pointed upwards to the men, trying to hide his excitement, he quietly spoke of a plan which includes the dynamite. John told Joe and Wind to move the ammunition and machine guns onto one of the rafts in preparation for a fight while John and Ollie fastened dynamite to walls of the cave along a lengthy wire. Wind instructed Joe to move the ammunition onto the rafts as Wind had carried the Maxim guns onto the raft with ease. Only sweating from moving the numerous guns. When Wind saw that the cave was emptied of ammo and weapons, he once more spotted the light of John as he returned to the lower areas, bruised along his face, to ignite the cave's dynamite. As John gave the all clear to the gang, Wind and Joe boarded the armed raft as the rest of the gang reached the safest area of the cave; in direct view of Cries and Joe's guns. Cries fired unrelentingly into guard after guard in the dark, briefly and shockingly stopping once he heard the agonizing scream as Corey as a stray bullet tore his leg, preparing to jump off the raft and towards the new member, Wind was stopped by the deafening explosion, blowing him backwards into the water, with no power to even swim, Cries was about to let this be his end, before a hand reached into the water, Joe's hand. Determined now to not disappoint his tribe once again, Cries fought the writhing pain as he grabbed the arm climbing onto the surface of the raft. With a moment to breathe, Wind had noticed that where Corey once was had been blocked off with the debris from the explosion, devastated, but without time to lose, John ordered the gang to quickly load up the rafts with all the hefty gold before sailing off into the dark night. Cries was silent on the trip home, broken by the death of his new friend. On more than one occasion, Cries felt suicidal over his actions, however Joe stayed by his side to let him know that an accident was an accident, just like Wounded Knee, it wasn't his fault what happened. Cries took comfort in knowing that even what he felt was horrible, the Raiders refused to convict him for his folly. Returning to America seemed like a blur to Cries as he had one intention, and on the creation of Corey's empty grave, Cries had buried a lockbox with letters he wrote over the years of his dreams, worries and wishes, signifying that they all have perished with the young man. At last, Cries felt at peace as he retired from his adventures. By 1913, the posse dissolved into the formation of a town around the ranch, using the former land by the creek to build homes and camps. With the posse now a fully-fledged town, Cries retired to the ranch to spend the rest of his days with his friends as a medicine man. While working on the ranch, Cries was approached by a young woman named Blood Coyote (Western Apache: dił ba’) who was a descendant of the Apache tribes, both talked and connected about their lost of identity, but also highlighted the freedom of persecution within the Raider's ranks. Over the months, Cries and the Coyote became intimate, commonly found doing the same jobs or sitting close at the lunch tables. Near December, both Cries and Coyote held a small ceremony in a forested retreat, joined only by Joe, John and Ollie, in which the two had wedded with tribal traditions. In 1914, Coyote gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who they named Fire Sun (Lakota: apawi pȟéta) and Wolf Moon (Western Apache: ba’choh tłʼéʼgonaʼáí). The two grew up in the care of Cries, Coyote, Ollie, John and Joe. In 1917, Joe had left to fight in the World War, much to the dismay of Cries, who frequently wrote to him during the war. When he returned, Cries organized a party to celebrate the return. Later in the life of Cries, he was repeatedly approached by visitors who wished to see the spiritual Chieftain of the Lakota tribe noted his somber tone when mentioning his story initially, however notice his demeanor changing dramatically when noting his time with the Raiders, Coyote and his children.